Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Color of WELCOME


I walk the dog…a lot. I get the illusion of exercise, and he sniffs and pees and eliminates solids in a quantity that amazes all who see. He may poop more than he eats.

But I digress. The topic is Front Doors, and we see quite a few in any neighborhood, but the eclectic (what a kind word for what we see here), “beachy” neighborhood in Virginia Beach where we walk has quite a variety as it isn’t limited to the narrow, suburban choices. The value of a suburban neighborhood is determined by the number of cars in the driveways, the number of pickups on the street and the various measures of suburban standards, like lawn care, foundation plantings, type of roof, make sure your garage doors are closed and you know the drill. In this “beachy” neighborhood, the value is determined by the fact that you are two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean, and the Boardwalk of Virginia Beach is just another stroll.

It is not unusual for the value of a house to be: structure, $40,000; lot, $425,000. The structures are just not the main focus. There is a house that is not much more than a shed with plumbing. There is a guy who lives in a garage (it is a two-car with a nice beer sign) and cooks on a gas grill. Across the street is a three-story beauty that was recently built, fits the neighborhood and has a construction cost of well over $400,000.

The front doors are equally as varied. Made me wonder, what should a front door be? What color, in particular? Lots of reds, from deep, deep almost maroon to bright, red like the stripes in the flag. Greens are popular. I am not a huge fan of the wood ones, they seem extravagantly expensive and not very practical since the heat and UV is really hard on any material, particularly wood. The fake wood ones are just not my style.

How about yellow? There is a gray, shingle Cape Cod with a purple front door. Should they have a storm door around them? Or, be bare? Lots of white ones, and I think some of that is they come from the factory that way and it is easy to just keep them white. Battleship gray with a brown shingle house and green roof. Hmmmm.

I don’t know, what does feng shui say? Well, it depends, evidently on your facing or seating direction, and … aw, I just don’t know.

All I do know is that the proper front door color is just not as important as the attitude that it projects, the feeling you get when you go through it. And I know that color should be WELCOME.

2 comments:

  1. Bob, I don't have an opinion on the color question, beyond the observation that some colors are considered warm and some cold. But that distinction makes me want to say "sez who?"

    The reason for the comment is: if you don't like wood doors and you don't like fake wood doors, what do you like?

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  2. You have "outed" me--a curmudgeon, through and through. Maybe I'll just go without a front door. So there.

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